Urban Planet: New York rolls out new wayfinding signs

New York City’s transportation commission has installed maps across the city to promote businesses and pedestrian activity throughout the city. Starting in March, New York City will install 150 ‘wayfinding’ signs on sidewalks in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens as part of a citywide system that will roll out in phases. The sidewalk signage will show pedestrians where they are and which way they are facing — a study last year found that many New Yorkers couldn’t point to north when asked. Transit, local attractions, and businesses are placed on a large map of the local street grid with circles indicating where you can reach with a five minute walk, and how long it will take to get to other attractions.

Image via NYC DOT

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It’s pretty well accepted that Toronto’s sidewalk billboards, masquerading as ‘information’ pillars, are an example of how not to implement a wayfinding system.
TO might have ended up with something more like NYC, if the city hadn’t disbanded its volunteer advisory committees including the Toronto Pedestrian Committee, who examined and provided recommendations on pedestrian related issues & infrastructure.
Thanks to the activists who helped the city clear offending pillars from locations that did not leave the legal minimum sidewalk clearance.